8th and Hope and Essex CEO and President Michael Shall
Essex Property Trust has sold a high-rise apartment building in Downtown Los Angeles to a local developer for $220 million, The Real Deal has learned.
Bin Feng Cheng, acting through an LP named 801 Properties, was the buyer of 8th and Hope, deed records show. The San Marino resident is also tied to several other entities, including Pasadena Plus, Rancho Properties and Universal Capital Investment.
At $758,600 per unit, the multifamily sale ranks among the most expensive trades ever on a per unit basis in the Downtown L.A. multifamily market, an industry source said.
And at $220 million, the multifamily sale tops last year’s most expensive sale in the Downtown market.
Located in the South Park neighborhood at 801 South Hope Street, across from the Bloc, the 22-story property includes 290 luxury apartments and 5,900 square feet of retail space. Amenities include a swimming pool, media center, conference room and rooftop deck.
Cheng declined to comment. A representative for Essex did not respond to requests. Essex announced the sale of 8th and Hope in a press release in December, but did not disclose the buyer.
Eastdil Secured had the listing.
Essex, a publicly-traded REIT based in San Mateo, acquired the 300,000-square-foot complex from developer Wood Partners for $200 million in 2015, records show.
Other big recent Downtown multifamily trades include Greystar and Goldman Sachs’ purchase in May 2018 of two student housing complexes as part of a portfolio deal with American Campus Communities. West 27th Place, at 27800 S. Figueroa, sold for $96.3 million, while the Icon Plaza at 3584 S. Figueroa Street went for $66.3 million.
Source: The Real Deal Los Angeles